Spacey, a gifted if understated actor, was born in 1959 which makes him older than all those listed 'cept Hanks. Clooney (born in 1961), plays a nicely tuned ‘charming guy’, but again, I haven’t seen a bunch of range for him. (MHO).
Crowe (born 1964) IMHO is one of the most overrated actors I’ve ever seen. I saw Gladiator and learned that he could whisper. I thought - but wait, this guy got an Oscar, so I made it a point to see a bunch of his other stuff. from Proof of Life, the Insider, Breaking UP, LA Confidential, Virtuosity - nope didn’t see anything but "Hi, I’m Russell, and I’m an ac- tor. "
I just don’t get why folks think he’s so great. The roles he’s gotten were good, but I was never impressed with what he found to do with them.
Yeah, but Spacey is only a year older than Penn. Since the OP started with Sean Penn as one of the ‘greatest actors of his generation’, I think you have to include Kevin Spacey, unless Sean Penn’s generation ended sometime between the 13 months between their birthdays.
Would anyone Put Tom Cruise in this bunch, especially considering his acting in “Magnolia”?
Oh, and how can we forget John Cusack? He’s gotta at least be in the running, although I think he has to show a bit more range before rising to the top of the heap.
How about Nicholas Cage? Best Actor for “Leaving Las Vegas”, although he’s got his share of detractors.
Gary Sinise needs at least an honorable mention on this list.
James Gandolfini could wind up on the list after he gets a few more movies under his belt. And he’s got a wide range - There’s almost no resemblance between “Bear” in “Get Shorty” and Tony Soprano.
Keifer Sutherland should be on the list, at least as an honorable mention.
Offhand I can’t think of more than two movies that I’ve seen Penn in: Dead Man Walking and Bad Boys. Perhaps I should check out a filmography or something.
Pitt is incredible. Seeing him in Fight Club and in Legends of the Fall just impresses the hell out of me.
I hate Clooney.
Is Oldman really in this age group? He is a pretty impressive actor, but I’d like to see him in some good-guy roles. I can’t htink of any offhand, but hell, I probably have and just haven’t noticed it was him. He is a very good actor.
Another great Pitt performance was in 12 Monkeys. Pitt is definitely a skilled actor.
While I don’t think Cusack shows quite the acting range of Oldman, Pitt, or Spacey, I probably have more respect for his ability at picking films than any other current actor. Maybe it’s because of his own work as a screenwriter, but Cusack has built an incredible track record of appearing in great movies.
BENICIO DEL TORO! 1967, so he’s in. What a fine actor. He was pretty cool on the awards too. Nice work in Snatch and Traffic! Also, what about Guy Pearce?
I never liked Clooney until “O Brother…” I think that we may start to see him in some un-Clooney like roles.
Brad Pitt, as much as I want to dislike him, is very good. I can’t name a movie that I thought he was bad in, ot a bad movie. Ditto Jonny Depp (although I did not see Sleepy Hollow or From Hell, so TTFWIW).
RD jr – I guess I have bias against him. He is a good actor but I can’t get past his repeated fuckups. Hope he can get his shit figured out for good.
.